After confirming that all the luggage had been loaded onto the carriage, I slowly turned towards the academy.

Before we knew it, the winter vacation had already begun.

Just as I did during this past summer, I attempted to solve various incidents or unsolved cases caused by evil spirits while traveling around the kingdom.

Thanks to Saintess Lucia, who seemed to have been working hard and had gotten some free time recently, I planned to visit Bright Household's territory in Byolren for the family meeting.

Erica, who was also checking the luggage in the same carriage, slowly approached me.

"Do you have any plans?"

"Regardless of my plans, they will be the ones who will come to me with their heads down, so there is no problem."

Erica nodded at my words, but then, she looked at me with a subtle expression.

"It sounds like you don’t have any plans."

"..."

"That’s unlike you."

I felt that it wasn’t necessary for me to respond to that. However, my silence made Erica feel strange, and she displayed an expression filled with concern.

"Nothing happened, right?"

"Yes."

When I replied firmly, Erica showed signs that she would stop worrying about me for the time being.

"Anyway, where's Findenai? She’s usually the loudest one around."

Erica tried to change the subject by asking about Findenai. However, she unintentionally ended up hitting the bull’s eye.

"She is gone."

"Gone?"

I thought I was using my usual tone and manner of speaking. However, it may have sounded a bit different to her.

Erica's expression contorted as she turned to stare at me. The worry in her eyes strangely evoked unsettled feelings from within me.

"Yes, she came from the Clark Republic, so she decided to return."

"..."

Erica, who had been staring at me intently, clenched her fists and bit her lips. She then lowered her head and said,

"Let's go after her."

I didn’t expect her to react like this.

I never imagined that a suggestion to chase after Findenai would come out of Erica’s mouth.

"There is no need for us to waste time chasing after a runaway maid."

"She's not just a maid, right?!"

All of a sudden, Erica shouted loudly. Her voice was filled with various emotions— jealousy, anger, and also a mix of sympathy and consideration.

Pushing aside her own emotions, she spoke to me.

"I’ve been pondering over it because something felt different lately. So, that was the reason. Deus, I’m okay with this. Let's go to Norseweden. After all, it's only a family meeting in name. It doesn’t matter if we cancel it."

"That does not make sense."

"What doesn’t make sense?!"

"The Bright Household has already been preparing to welcome us, and Darius has also set off."

"But–!"

"And I also invited the Zeronia Household."

"What...?"

Erica unconsciously took a sharp breath and replied in a fluster. Her expression showed that she hadn't expected me to bring up their name here.

"Of course, it is not related to you. You do not have to worry about Gideon."

"Wait, did the Zeronia Household say they were coming?"

"In one or another way, they should."

The Zeronia Household had been in a state of decline and were almost at the edge of the cliff. Upon reading the letter I sent as the Soul Whisperer, their bodies would heat up, and they would no longer be able to contain themselves.

They would have immediately set off for the Bright Household in their restlessness.

Perhaps my letter would feel a lifeline for them, making me look like a fairy godmother from a fairy tale.

In reality, they wouldn’t even realize that the lifeline I was dangling was a leash to restrain them.

"So... it’s not like you didn't have any plans at all."

Erica, who was tongue-tied, spoke again after clearing her throat.

"Anyway, we have to go after Findenai! She's someone precious to you, isn’t she?"

"It seems that you surprisingly hold a lot of affection for Findenai."

At my indifferent response, Erica widened her eyes and bit her lip before forcing out her words.

"I..."

"..."

"I’m worried about you, that's all."

It was a statement filled with shame and humiliation.

I don’t want to acknowledge the weight that the woman named Findenai holds within you, but I will accept it because you need her.

That was what she meant by that.

What should I say to Erica?

As I was pondering over various thoughts, and was about to reply...

"Professor!"

Aria raised her hand as she rushed over. It seemed like she had come to bid me farewell since it was the winter vacation

"I'm leaving now, Professor! Thank you for this semester!"

"Yes, you too."

"Alright, see you later!"

After saying that, Aria left abruptly. Her steps were light, and the smile on her lips was that of an ordinary girl.

"...It went surprisingly well, didn't it? Rather than feeling regretful, it feels more like anticipation."

Erica looked somewhat suspiciously at Aria's departing figure. As we stood there quietly, another female student approached us.

"Deus!"

"...Yes, Your Highness."

Since it was time for her to return to the role of a princess rather than that of a student during the vacation, I let it slide when Eleanor called me by my name.

"I’ll be leaving now! See you later!"

She gave me a big smile as she winked and swiftly departed.

Noticing the urgency in their steps, Erica crossed her arms and asked again.

"What kind of situation is this?"

"What are you talking about?"

"I mean, both of them let you go rather easily, didn’t they?"

"They probably have a lot to do since it is their vacation time."

Erica groaned, feeling that she had nothing to say when I replied in that manner. She furrowed her brows as if she was the only one who couldn’t understand something.

"What are you thinking?"

"Nothing is confirmed yet."

"..."

"However, when the time comes to say it, I will definitely tell you."

"Hmm."

As I replied firmly, Erica fell silent and withdrew for the time being. Once again, I turned around to face the carriage and said,

"How about we depart now?"

***

It had almost been a week since the winter break at the Loberne Academy began.

Amidst the chilling cold of Norseweden, a somewhat unique spectacle was unfolding.

Flames were burning.

A sharp cold gripped Norseweden. However, at that moment, the wind scattered the heat of the blaze, which was raging like a storm.

Since everyone had already evacuated, the empty streets resembled that of a ghost town.

Only sparks of fire crackled in various parts of the city, displaying the violent aggression.

And at the center…

Doberman, the man had single-handedly brought down the city, was standing at the central square with his head bowed and eyes closed.

Clang. Clang.

The solemn resonance of the heavy armor reverberated. Even with his eyes closed, Doberman raised his head as he could already sense it as the start of a battle .

The person's armor was adorned with thick animal hide, unique to the northern region. A black cloak hung long behind the scorched silver armor, and decorations of thick fur were wrapped around his waist and shoulders.

However, what stood out were the scorch marks and signs of burns on the armor and cloak.

Thud.

Carrying a greatsword on his shoulder, Darius Verdi, the Northern barrier, stared at Doberman and spoke.

"Is this what you have done to my homeland?"

"..."

"You also planted landmine-type bombs outside."

Doberman didn't respond. He simply raised his right hand and pulled the trigger.

Bang!

The bullet fired from the long-barreled copper-colored revolver flew swiftly, aiming for the gap between Darius' eyebrows.

On the other side, Darius widened his eyes as he circulated mana throughout his body.

And that was the end of it.

Darius didn’t budge at all.

His mana, as cold as the chill of the northern region, wouldn't even allow a mere lead bullet to touch its master.

"Thanks to you, I had to rush back from attending the family meeting related to my younger brother."

Thanks to the quick and timely report, the citizens of Norseweden were fortunately able to evacuate to the nearby territory of Margrave Hellian. However, Norseweden itself suffered from considerable damage.

By the way, Margrave Hellian had taken over the role of guarding the Norseweden mountain range in the absence of Darius. However…

"Hellian..."

Hellian, lying near Doberman's foot with his eyes slightly open, had a bullet lodged in his forehead. He was dead.

"You bastard, thanks to the bullets and bombs, I had quite a hard time coming here."

Thanks to the landmines planted at every entrance of the city by Doberman, Darius was unable to bring in an army and had to infiltrate it all by himself.

Since there was only one opponent, there was no need to risk casualties due to the bombs, so he entered alone.

The burns on his whole body were caused by that.

"However, it seems like it wasn't enough to ward off the chill of the northern region."

Click.

Darius lowered the visor on his helmet to protect his eyes.

At the same time, he lowered the greatsword he was holding in both hands. The Giant of the North crouched down and took a big step forward.

Boom!

Like the word itself, Darius charged forward, leaving behind the reverberation of an explosion.

Each of his steps were heavy, making the earth itself tremble.

Beep beep beep beep!

Once again, warning sounds echoing from the ground were followed by explosions.

BOOOM!

And it wasn't just one or two.

An enormous amount of bombs had been planted on both the left and right sides of Doberman. And as they went off simultaneously, they unleashed flames and black smoke.

Doberman slowly lowered his hand and once again holstered the revolver at his waist.

Whoosh!

A sudden wind blew.

And it was a very strong gust.

A violent gale called Norseweden.

"Aaah!"

Along with a sigh, mocking laughter pierced through the smoke, as if that person had just seen something ridiculous.

Doberman hurriedly tried to draw his revolver once again. However, it was already too late.

"So, is this the level of the flames of the Republic?"

His cloak was now completely burnt, and his silver armor was already blackened with livid marks from the blows.

However, the steps of Darius, the armor's owner, were just as steady and forward as they were at the beginning, moving ahead unwaveringly.

"It's lukewarm!"

He aimed his greatsword precisely at Doberman's heart and stabbed.